LoveShyness: A Matt and Lucy Collection
by Atellix
Summary: Series of one-shots centering around the developing relationship of Matt Farrell and Lucy McClane from the movie "Live Free or Die Hard". Continues after the movie.
1. Bedside Manners

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the awesome characters from "Live Free or Die Hard". I'm just borrowing them for a time.  
**Author's Notes:** If all goes well and people enjoy this first part, it'll probably be a series of one-shots, centering around the developing 'thing' between Matt Farrell and Lucy McClane. Here's hoping.  
**100prompt:** #35 – Hold My Hand

**Bedside Manners**

He'd done so well for so long. Matt had kept up with John McClane, survived, and maybe even helped at times. The last time John McClane had seen him, he was smiling, trying his best to casually look at Lucy McClane without getting himself killed by her father. He'd suffered a bullet wound to the knee. He'd been laughing and showing off that boyish smile, mostly on account of the morphine he'd been given. His ambulance was right behind theirs the whole time to the hospital.

But when John and Lucy had been examined and walked out of the emergency room, they were surprised not to find Matt following right behind. So they waited. John asked at the desk. Matt Farrell. Checked in, and admitted.

Matt had tried to warn them. When John had brought him to Agent Bowman, he'd asked for some kind of snack. Low blood sugar, he'd said. He'd been ignored. Even when he and John were being transported, he'd asked if they could pull over, some fast food restaurant. Just to grab some ketchup packages. John hadn't listened to him. Of course, he was a little preoccupied with trying to save the country instead of some kid's blood sugar.

Now as John stood with Lucy at the doorway to Matt's hospital room, he chewed at his bottom lip. His daughter gave his hand a supportive squeeze. She noticed how limp his hand was. Normally it would be tense, ready to fight. Now it just held hers.

She looked from her dad to the sleeping figure in the bed. She knew that her father had a begrudging respect for the young hacker. She'd heard stories about other men who had fought with him. Sgt. Al Powell. Zeus Carver. John McClane did not make friends easily, and making allies was even harder. For Matt to have gained that status with John McClane was quite the feat.

And now, for him to be standing there and feeling guilty and responsible for what happened to Matt… From her father's body language, he was not having a good time of it. She knew. She'd inherited that body language, whether she'd wanted to or not.

So she knew what she had to do. She stepped in front of him to block his view of Matt.

"Hey Dad, why don't you go grab us some coffee. Okay?"

John McClane had been sent for coffee more than once in his life. He knew when someone was getting rid of him. But this time, unlike the others, he didn't object.

"Sure honey," was all he said softly, and he was gone.

She stood at the door for another moment before entering. He didn't move as she approached the bed, his breathing continuing its rhythm as he slept. Spotting a chair, she pulled it towards the bed. Unfortunately, it did this with a grinding noise, and when Lucy sat down and straightened herself up, a pair of brown eyes were watching her.

"Hey there."

She smiled at him. "Hey yourself. Sorry I woke you up."

"Oh, it's okay," he said, trying to sit up, "I wasn't sleeping. I mean I know my eyes were closed, but I was just, you know, resting my eyes."

She nodded, not convinced. Seeing that he was having trouble sitting up, Lucy stood quickly. "Here, let me," she said, carefully moving pillows behind him. When he was sitting comfortably enough, he caught her arm gently. "I'm okay. Thanks."

Realizing his action was probably out of place, he quickly withdrew his hand as she sat down. "Sorry, but… I don't want your dad coming in with a reason to kill me."

Lucy nodded. "He's gone to get coffee."

"Ah," was all Matt said, and the two fell into an awkward silence. He thought this was the worst part. She was probably here because… he sighed. "Listen Lucy," he said, and seeing he had her attention, he continued, "I just… I'm fine really. And I don't want you to feel like you have to be here. I mean, not that I don't appreciate it, I do. I have no problem with a beautiful girl sitting next to my bed, believe me. I just…"

"I know."

He stopped at that. She gave him a small smile. "God, this is so awkward."

"Agreed."

"And I'm not here because I have to be or because I feel obligated to, I just… was worried. We both were."

"Both?" He looked at the curiously empty space behind her.

She nodded. "I think… I think he thinks that this," she motioned to Matt's IV, "is his fault."

Matt blinked. "What?"

"I mean, he would have stopped to get you something if he could have, I'm sure."

"Lucy," he said, leaning forward and catching her hand, but not without making sure that John McClane hadn't suddenly returned. She smiled at that as he continued, "Lucy, your dad saved my life. Okay? He _saved my life_. Like, do you have any idea how much I owe him? Your dad is just… he's a hero."

Matt leaned back but didn't let go of her hand. "Your dad is the hero. I'm the guy with the… the low blood sugar and the weak knees."

She pulled her chair closer to the bed, never letting go of his hand, which in Matt's nervousness, had intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Matt," she said, liking the sound of his name coming from her mouth, her first time saying it, "I know my dad. Okay? I know the guy he is, and I know the guys he's worked with. And you're just as good as any of them. I mean, god, you shot one of them to save m--"

She caught herself before she finished, and corrected it, "To save my dad, the country. You guys took them down. You're a hero too."

"But that's not… that's not who I am. I'm the guy with the HTML coding, not the gun. Geek of the year, that's me."

She shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with that."

Matt blinked at her. Had he heard that right? "You don't?"

"No," she said, looking at him plainly. She ran her thumb gently across the back of his hand. "Everyone's got their strengths. So what if yours is computers?"

Suddenly shy, she looked down at their hands. "Besides, with all that typing… you must have strong hands and… pretty experienced fingers."

She felt his fingers tense instantly. When she looked up, he was looking back, surprised. He tried a few times to open his mouth, forming words but no sound came out. Finally all he managed was a very unbelieving "Wow."

Lucy was now beyond embarrassed, and pulled her hand away from his. "I'm sorry, I just… no idea where that came from, that was stupid…"

"Lucy…"

"I'm just, I'm not really like that. I mean I'm not that forward usually, but I thought… God, you must think I'm an idiot."

"Did you mean it?"

"What?" That stopped her. She looked at him. He was about as tentative with this as she was.

He swallowed. "Did you… or was it out of… pit—"

"I don't say anything that I don't mean."

He fell silent at that, and when he still failed to respond, she felt a growing feeling of discomfort. She turned away.

"You know what? Forget what I said."

She started to move away, but he caught her arm. "No Lucy, it's not you, it's me. I just… I've never had someone… you're beautiful, and I don't… shit," he said finally, taking a deep breath. He lifted his head and looked at her, open eyes and honest heart, "I work computers. Day in and out. That's all I know. So when a wonderful, strong woman like you comes along and tells me in no uncertain terms that she likes me, I don't know what to say, and so of course I do the worst thing which is start to trip up and stutter and sound like an idiot… when all I really want to do, is tell her… you, that I like her as much as she likes me. So I'm… I'm glad… I'm glad you told me."

She looked at him, sensitive. "Really?"

Matt shook his head, intertwining their fingers again, intentionally this time. "Lucy, you are a _hell_ of a lot of things, I'm finding out. And as far as I can tell, being an idiot is not one of them."

"But being my daughter is."

Matt and Lucy looked up to see an angry cop standing in the doorway. Matt swallowed and the two pulled their hands apart. "And now we come to the part where I die."

Lucy braced herself for the verbal attack like she'd witnessed the last time she was with a boy, but it never came. Instead his face softened and he held out his car keys to her. She looked at the questioningly as he spoke. "A dealership brought a car for us and parked it in the hospital lot. Could you find it for me and bring it around?"

Lucy looked at him for a long moment. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't appear to be angry enough to kill anyone, especially her developing hacker interest. She nodded and took the keys, whispering to him quietly as she did. "Play nice." She smiled at Matt through the glass as she walked alongside him down the hall.

He smiled back until she was gone, and came face to face with a pair of eyes belonging to a very upset John McClane. "Oh God, you are going to kill me."

"I warned you. Don't even think about it."

"But I wasn't--"

"--You were," John McClane said, now pointing a finger at Matt, "I told you once before, kid. Don't lie to me."

"I just… I like her. But not the way you think." He stopped. "I mean, well maybe the way you think, but since I don't know what you're thinking, I can't really make those kinds of assumptions about…"

"Digging yourself deeper, kid."

"I just thought," said Matt, "That maybe you would give the guy who helped you save the country a little bit of leeway. You know? Cut me some slack. Okay? I mean I know she's your daughter, but she seems really nice."

John McClane felt defensive, as though being his daughter and being nice was impossible together. "She is nice. She's a very nice girl!"

"Exactly!" said Matt, continuing quickly, "Which is why I would never try anything, or hurt her. And if I try anything funny, you will no doubt hear about it. And then you have my absolute permission to kick my ass. But I'm pretty sure that if I upset her, she'll kick my ass before you even get there. And then you'll most likely kick it again for good measure."

John smiled at the kid's persistence. He hated that it reminded him of someone he knew a long time ago. With a smirk, he said "You've pretty much got this figured out, haven't you?"

"Well, I've had the time," said Matt, motioning to the bed. He mustered up the most honest face he could and shrugged at the cop. "Look, I just want to talk to her, okay? But if I screw up, then you kill me. Fair?"

John shrugged in response. "Maybe."

Matt sighed in playful exasperation, "So is a 'maybe' actually a 'yes'? I don't speak John McClane."

John turned away from Matt and walked to the doorway. He stopped before he could pass through and instead turned around.

"Hey kid," he said, "You're all right."

Off of Matt's brightened face, he continued. "Better than that other jerk who was trying to take advantage of my daughter."

Matt deflated a little at that but took the bait. "Yeah? And what happened to him?"

"I killed him."

He laughed, but as John's face remained stolid, his laughter became more and more nervous, before finally trailing off altogether. "You didn't, did you?"

He gave the young hacker a half smile as only John McClane could, turning away to show himself out. "Take care of yourself kid," he said over his shoulder.

"I will," said Matt. There was a pause before he hollered at the retreating New York cop. "Hey."

John turned around. Matt smiled. "Thanks again… for saving my life. Doctor says I'm a fast healer, just needed some sugar in me. Looks like I'm gonna be fine."

They both knew what Matt was really trying to say. The sincerity in Matt's face eased some of the pressure in John's chest brought on by guilt. John didn't tell him that though. Never said a word about his concern. Instead, he gave him a nonchalant shrug.

"Don't mention it. Like I said, hate to have to kill you after all we've been through."

Matt nodded and smiled. "You won't have reason to. I promise."

"Good." And as silently as he had arrived, John McClane left.

-- Feedback is always appreciated and often rewarded with virtual cookies!


	2. Woke From Dreaming

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the awesome characters from "Live Free or Die Hard". I'm just borrowing them for a time.  
**Author's Notes:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I never imagined that there'd still be so many Matt/Lucy fans around! You guys have definitely been the reason that this chapter was written so quickly. So, enjoy! Yet another development in the Lucy/Matt relationship. Hope you like it.  
**100prompt:** #39 – Dreams

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**Woke From Dreaming**

Lucy ducked under the awning above the apartment building door, watching as the lights of the taxi shimmered against the wet pavement as it drove away. Shivering, she read the nameplates on the wall. Recognizing the one she wanted, she lifted a finger to push the corresponding button.

And stopped.

Shaking, she looked at her watch. Three in the morning. She felt a level of guilt well up in her as she swallowed. Then she remembered the conversation she'd been involved in. The sit-down with director Bowman, the details all coming out. The Federal Inquisition. Matt had made a Monty Python joke at that. Lucy had been the only one to laugh.

She remembered her dad had gotten Matt at three in the morning, or shortly thereafter. Matt had made it clear that he'd been awake. He was a night owl.

This time, she swallowed, lifted her hand, and pushed the button.

His voice soon responded. "Y'ello?"

"Matt?"

"Lucy?"

The surprise was evident in his voice and she swallowed. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. "Yeah. Um… I was just—"

The buzz of the door unlocking cut her off. He didn't even wait for an explanation. It was her. That was enough, apparently. The thought of that warmed her as she entered the lobby, shaking the rainwater off of her as she went.

She'd only managed to get up one flight of stairs when he met her on the landing. He was out of breath, and she smiled at his disheveled appearance, his chest heaving. She tried to ignore the feeling of guilt at getting him so worried over—

"Lucy. Are you okay? You're not, like, hurt or anything, are you?" He was checking her now for any obvious external injuries. His hands met her shoulders. They were warm against her clammy wet skin and soaked shirt. She was surprised that he didn't flinch on contact.

"What's wrong? Is there, I don't know, is there something I can do? How many words? Sounds like what?"

She smiled at that but felt the guilt well up again at getting him so worried over something so stupid. He was standing there, so obviously he was okay. But the only thing she wanted to do was hug him. Bury her head in his chest and breathe him in. Forget everything from the last three hours.

She looked up at him through wet bangs and swallowed. She'd thought of a hundred different ways in the car to ask him, tell him. Now she was fighting for something to say. Her eyes watered against her will and she dropped her head so that he wouldn't see. She swallowed.

"I had a nightmare. And I didn't know where else to go."

As he remained silent but stationary, Lucy felt herself flounder. She looked up to make sure he was still there and shrugged helplessly, avoiding his gaze. "Gabriel got you… and dad and… he made me choose. He… he made me choose and I lost. And then…"

She started to choke on her words as the memory came back, the nightmare reliving in full blown cover in her mind. The images stinging the back of her eyes, the ringing in her ears returning from two clear gunshots fired. She shook her head and tried to think of something to add.

She didn't need to. The hands on her shoulders tightened gently and pulled her in, one hand sliding across her shoulders and the other rubbing up and down her back.

The dam broke. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her head into his shoulder. He tightened his grip, the circular motions of his hand across her back warming her.

For a moment, she thought of her father, the day he'd moved out, when her mother had had enough. She'd told him how much she hated him. But as he'd walked down the driveway, retreating with a suitcase in each hand, she'd started to cry. He'd heard her coming and dropped the suitcases in time to catch her on his knees as she'd jumped into his arms. She'd buried her head in his shoulder and cried until she had nothing left. She hadn't done it since.

She sniffed and pulled away from Matt, wiping away the moist remnants of tears on her cheeks. She hid herself behind her bangs and his hands found her shoulders again.

"Feel better?"

She nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

They stood like that for a moment, the silence of the nighttime settling around them. Lucy finally lifted her head. "Matt?"

"Yeah?"

He gave her a warm smile. She liked that. She managed to say "Could I…" before she trailed off. He hadn't ignored her when she showed up, hadn't run screaming when she'd started crying. The last thing she wanted to do was push her luck.

She looked up at him and shook her head. "Nothing. I should get going."

"Well you know," he said, "It's quite a drive back to the campus, isn't it? I mean, I haven't… I haven't clocked it or anything, but if memory serves…"

The campus? He'd been to the campus? She shrugged at him and nodded. "I guess it is."

She bit her tongue behind her lips as she thought of her haunted dorm room and her hungover floormates. She'd stay anywhere than there tonight. But she wasn't about to ask him, not after everything he'd been through. She wouldn't put him out like that, not with the way her mother had raised her.

She'd been so deep in her thoughts that she barely registered that Matt had said something. She looked at him, surprised. "I'm sorry?"

He swallowed. "I mean, if you don't want to and you'd rather take a cab all the way back to the school, I'd understand but… you know, if you didn't—"

"—Then what?" Lucy blurted.

Matt smiled a little at how wide and hopeful her eyes had suddenly gotten. He shrugged and shoved his hands in the pockets of the jeans. "Then… you could stay. Stay here tonight. With me. That is, if you wanted to and didn't--"

Matt barely had time to brace himself as Lucy launched herself at him, smiling and thanking him over and over. He caught her and was amazed at how happy she'd suddenly become. She'd been so upset when she showed up, and now here she was, grinning and laughing and most likely waking up the neighbours.

He was totally okay with that.

----------------

He shifted slightly on top of the covers, careful not to wake Lucy sleeping underneath. He'd tried several times to take the couch, and every time Lucy had insisted that he sleep in his own bed. She should sleep on the couch. After all, she was the one being an inconvenience. Matt had declared that with the way his mother raised him, there was no way she was sleeping in less comfort that him. So they'd reached a compromise.

He liked the compromise. Of course, Matt had always taught to be proper. Treat a woman with respect. And the young woman whose head rested on his chest deserved all that and more with what she had gone through.

He smiled as she shifted in her sleep, her scent of faded perfume and the fresh night rainwater floating up to him. He glanced over at the clock as he caught a glimpse of sun through the shades.

Six thirty-seven. Dawn was coming.

He smiled down at her, his hands behind his head. At least she'd slept solidly since three-thirty, after she'd changed into a pair of Matt's plaid pajama pants and a large Nightwing shirt that he'd won at a convention.

He through about her dream and winced. Even through the broken description, he'd understood what had happened in the dream. He'd been having them too in fact. And no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't save them in time, couldn't save Lucy. They'd become so bad, so upsetting, that he'd resorted to staying up all night and just sleep through the day. He didn't think nightmares could catch him in the daytime.

He looked down at Lucy and grinned. Of course, he didn't think his daydreams would come to him at night, either. He was pleasantly surprised to discover he was wrong.

If him being wrong resulted in things like this, he'd have to be wrong more often.

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_**To My Reviewers:** Thank you all so much for reading my chapter one and for giving me feedback. Trust me, I always read the comments for ways to continue writing, or to improve my writing. So thank you so much for that.  
_

**Speakfire** - First of all, I wanted to thank you for encouraging me to post it on I've been a long-time fan of the site, but I haven't done any posting on it for a very long time. Thanks for getting me back into the groove. And your feedback is always so wonderful and encouraging! And the 100 prompts challenge was originally supposed to be an art challenge. I was a big deviantART person at one time too, and someone there had it for a challenge. Now that I'm looking for it, of COURSE I can't find it. But if you google '100 prompts' or look around, I'm sure you can find a list somewhere. Here's one I just found now. (http://community. Thanks again for all of the support!

**Karma22** - Indeed, there is more! Granted, I have no idea how many more -- I'm just doing them as little one-shots or glimpses into a developing relationship. I guess as long as people keep reading them and are enjoying them, then I'll probably keep writing them! I'm really glad you liked it, and I'm sorry to give you such a scare when you came to the end. There will be more, I promise. And thank you so much for such a wonderful comment!

**megan **- Thank you! I always try to step back from the writing and say "Now, would this actually happen? Realistically?" I'm so glad that it worked! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback.

**TotalTVAddict** - "_Matt and Lucy is one of those ships that everyone loves, but no one can bothered to write about._" I totally agree with you. I love how the writers left it completely open at the end, but they did give the viewers enough material to know that something obviously _could_ evolve into a relationship from that encounter. And I'm so glad that all of the characters are actually in character. I always try to take extra care to make sure that no-one says anything that they normally wouldn't say. So thank you for noticing that, and for such kind words of encouragement! I appreciate it!

**Time and Fate** - Thank you so much for the wonderful comment! It's so good to know that I'm not the only one who appreciates this pairing and sees the potential for something great. Of course, it's the encouragement of reviewers that make the writing awesome. So thank you for reading, and I'm delighted that you enjoyed what I have so far!

**I.S.** - Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback! I'm really glad you enjoyed it! LOL, it's funny you mention your favorite part being the "experienced fingers" comment. That actually resulted from my friend and I watching the movie, and someone saying that Matt was a geek and a weakling. And my response was "Yeah, but with all that typing, I'm sure his hands and fingers are pretty strong." The obvious daydreams followed, and that comment by Lucy was the result. Thanks again for leaving such a supporting comment -- it means a lot!

**GhostEdge** - LOL, thank you very much! I'm glad you liked reading it! Thank you so much for the encouraging comment, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**CrypticCalico** - Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! I'm happy to tell you that there will always be more to read (at least, until I have no more to write). And I'm so glad that everyone was in character. I try to make sure that anything they say is something they _would _say. This chapter isn't as funny or entertaining as the first chapter, but I'd love to hear any thoughts about it that you might have. I promise, the humor will come back in the next chapter.


	3. The Wake Up Call

**Disclaimer:** Matt is not mine, neither is Lucy. Sadly. sighs  
**Author's Notes:** I had this chapter all planned out three weeks ago and rewrote it twice, but school and exams prevented it from getting onto the computer. But now all the problems are solved, and I'm already hard at work writing the next chapters to accompany this one. I hope you guys enjoy it.  
**100prompt:** #90 – Triangle  
--

**The Wake-Up Call  
**  
By the time Lucy woke up and rolled out of the sunshine's reach, it was after ten in the morning. She stretched and smiled at the white tiled ceiling that was beginning to become familiar to her. She pulled the covers up and tucked them under her chin.

She looked over at where Matt had been laying on top of the covers. In his place was a sheet of paper. Picking it up, she smiled at his surprisingly elegant scrawl as she began to read:

_Gone to get breakfast. Be back soon. If you need to leave, could you leave the door unlocked?_

She grinned at the last line.

_Hope you'll still be there when I get back though._

She smiled and put the sheet on the night table and pulled herself out of bed. She wondered if Matt would mind her taking a shower.

She tried to ignore the pain in her shoulder as she stood beneath the comforting blast of hot water. She refused to look at the bruise that was still there, the result of Gabriel's anger. She hoped it would finally be gone soon.

She had to admit that the one good thing that she'd been given as a result of all of the trouble Gabriel had caused was Matt. Aside from, you know, having her life spared. She would have never met Matt had it not been for Gabriel, which she had to admit was sort of twisted in a way. He'd given her Matt.

At least, she hoped she had Matt. She'd gotten into the habit of coming to visit him since that night a few weeks ago. He was always happy to see her. She managed to get a lot of work done when she'd brought work to do. The silence of his apartment, save for his rhythmic typing, provided her with a perfect study place for her midterms. No stupid hallmates barging in drunk of demanding to know if some part of their body looked infected or not, or bragging about their night's conquests. She was comfortable with Matt, but it wasn't just because he provided her with a safe haven to stay. It was the deep brown eyes that saw the person inside her when she spoke to him, who listened when she needed to vent. She was happy with Matt. He seemed happy with her. He was always asking if she'd be around again, had a little snack or something ready for her when she came. He'd even cleaned off one of his desks against the window so she'd have a place to work whenever she wanted. Matt seemed to like her too.

Lucy frowned at the shower head. So why hadn't anything happened yet? Not a hint, not a touch (outside of the friendly hug hello and goodbye). She'd never been in this position before. Her past boyfriends had always made clear their intentions. While she didn't always agree with them, she knew where she stood.

With Matt? Who the hell knew?

As she dried herself off, she wondered if she should say or do something. Matt _had _been clear that he hadn't had a lot of experience in previous relationships. But she didn't want to make too strong a move in case she scared him off.

She continued to dab at her hair after she'd changed into her clothes. It was up to her then. She'd have to do something.

Her cell phone went off as if to mark her making the decision. Scooping it off the night tablem she frowned at her call display.

Her not-boyfriend, Tim. She didn't answer. She'd tried to break it off with him, but he seemed convinced that he was the best thing for her. Lucy damn near smiled at the temptation to answer and tell him, _Not anymore_.

She got dressed quickly and in the bathroom in case Matt returned before she was finished. She smiled at the embarrassment that would register across his face, how he'd probably stutter and blush and close the door again. She laughed at the thought.

Maybe she would change outside.

She'd just pulled her shirt over her head without Matt walking in when Matt's phone rang. She wondered for a moment if she should answer it. She decided against it, since she didn't think that very appropriate. Friends shouldn't answer other friends phones if it had nothing to do with them. Lucy wondered for a moment if that same rule applied to girlfriends. Not that she was in that position.

Lucy half-listened to Matt's "leave a short message after the beep". She stopped completely when a female voice came across the answering machine.

"Hi Matty, it's me. You never called me last night like you said you would... So I'm just calling to make sure that you're still okay with me crashing at your place for the weekend... And I can't wait to see the new place... not that I didn't love your other one, it's just... okay, I didn't like your other one. So, yeah, call me back and let me know. Okay? Love you lots. Talk to you later!... Oh! And I found something for you when I was away, so I'll bring that too. Okay, love you, bye."

Lucy felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. As much as she tried to fight it, the puzzle pieces in her head about Matt were starting to fit. Only she wasn't part of it. Matt was keeping her at a friendly distance, not being too forward. And now Lucy knew why.

He had a girlfriend.

Lucy kicked herself mentally until she felt her synapses were bruised. How could she have been so stupid? Normally there were signs earlier that someone was taken. Cell phone calls from the significant other and the like. She sighed. She wasn't here every day and very rarely during the day, except for the very few sleepovers they'd had.

Last night's sleepover, Lucy decided, was going to be the last.

As she grabbed her sweater and started to put her shoes on, the shock that she felt was slowly beginning to burn into a jealousy. Of course this happened. This always happens. The good ones are always taken. She hoped the woman on the other end of the phone was good to Matt, because he deserved the best.

"_I found something for you when I was away, so I'll bring that too."_

Lucy stopped tying a shoelace for a moment. A shuddering thought raced past her heart and froze it. She'd been gone away for a while. Had he been putting in time with her? Simply wanted some company while his girlfriend was away? She'd thought he was one of the good ones, but it was hard to tell now. Granted, he hadn't actually done anything with her that could be considered cheating. But if he was only looking for someone to...

It had been her who made the first move in the hospital, and he had responded. But he hadn't done anything since. Not really anyway. A hug and a comforting shoulder when she was plagued by nightmares? She shook her head at how stupid she felt.

She had to get out. She wouldn't let him see her like this. With her luck, he'd calm her down, have some logical explanation and then she'd be dragged into it all again. She didn't want to be friends with Matt. She knew that now. She wanted so much more, more than he could give her. And she couldn't stay here. Not anymore.

Grabbing her sweater, she left the apartment without a second glance. She left the door unlocked as she'd been instructed. She felt sadness creep in as she thought of that last line that Matt had written. It had given her so much pleasure this morning, but now made her stomach turn.

With great relief she didn't meet him on the stairs, and she exited the building as her cell phone rang. She pulled it out. It was Tim again.

This time, she answered the phone.  
--

Matt felt a twinge of disappointment and confusion as he realized that his apartment was empty. Lucy had left, without so much as a note or explanation why. With a sigh, he put the extra coffee and the cinnamon roll that he knew was her favourite on her desk, as though he naively hoped she might come back to work.

He thought about calling her, but not knowing whether or not her leaving was his fault made it a little difficult to apologize. He turned on his computer and began to work, trying not to look at the empty desk that sat so vacant nearby.

Feeling warm and slightly distressed from Lucy's unexplained absence without even a note, Matt shrugged off his jacket. Turning, he tossed it, aiming for the couch. He missed and it landed on the table in front, covering his keys, a few books, and his answering machine, whose blinking number '1' was now impossible to see under the jacket.

Matt sighed, rubbed his eyes, and tried to get back to work.

--

_**To My Reviewers:**_

**CrypticCalico** – LOL, I'm sorry this update took so much longer! Exams and school just get the better of some people, myself included. Hopefully I haven't gotten rusty. Thank you once again for the fantastic feedback, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

**Speakfire** – Thank you again so much for reviewing! Your feedback means the world to me. And while there probably won't be 99 chapters, there will be a considerable number. I'm aiming for at least twenty. At least. LOL, hope you liked the chapter!

**Time and Fate** – LOL, no... no, Justin Long sleeping shirtless is not a bad view at all...

**pdantzler2** – It's so funny you should mention about John catching Lucy and Matt. I have the perfect idea for a chapter coming up in a few, and something along those lines happens, but doesn't happen. I'll put a "For pdantzler2" at the top of the chapter when I write it so you'll know. I'm glad you're enjoying reading this, and welcome about the good ship Matt/Lucy! Thanks for the encouraging feedback!

**TotalTVAddict** – Thank you again for reading! Seeing that you'd left feedback made ME smile. Hope you liked this chapter, even though there wasn't any real interaction between the two. I'll fix the problem, I promise! Thanks again for leaving such awesome feedback.

**Anony** – Thank you so much for the wonderful comment! I felt that the two of them were slipping out of character slightly in this chapter, but I think that's because there's no dialogue between the two. Hopefully that will change with the next chapter. Hope you liked it, and thanks for the fantastic feedback!

**GhostEdge** – Thank you so much! And I love this pairing too. I'm going to try and delve into their personal lives a little bit in the next few chapters (which will hopefully bring them even closer together). Thanks for the feedback!

**Stepmother** – Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoy it! Yes, poor Matt. And even more poor Matt in this chapter! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for the feedback!

**jcool789** – Thanks much! I'm really glad you liked it!


	4. All in the Family

**Disclaimer:** Matt is not mine, neither is Lucy. Sadly. sighs  
**Author's Notes:** Told you guys I was working on it and it would be done quickly. I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying this series so much! And it means the world to me when you guys review – it definitely helps me get the writing done faster! Hope you guys like it! I promised to fix the problem, and now I have.  
**100prompt:** #46 – Family  
--

**All in the Family**

Matt shifted his bag on his shoulder as he walked down Baker Avenue. Normally he enjoyed this morning coffee run, but after the disappearance of Lucy yesterday, he'd found his appetite gone when he reached his favourite bakery and coffee spot that morning. Throughout the day and most of the night yesterday, between lines of coding and HTML algorithms, he'd wrestled with the idea of calling her. But what would he say?

"Hi Lucy, it's Matt. Why did you leave without saying goodbye like you always do?"

The more appropriate phrase might be "_Did I do something wrong?"_. But every time Matt picked up the phone, what little pride he had managed to all gather together and make him put it down again. If he knew _why_ Lucy had left without so much as a word, maybe he would know how to fix it.

Because Matt was slowly coming to the realization of how much he loved spending time with Lucy, how he enjoyed her company when she came over. How he wanted maybe to be more than friends, and to ask her how. He'd been planning to tell her when he returned with breakfast. But it's difficult to tell someone something without their being there, now wasn't it?

For a moment, Matt's spirits lifted. As he turned the corner onto his street, Matt saw a figure sitting on the stairs. From the long hair, he guessed it was a woman, but as he drew closer he saw that the hair was not the brown he'd hoped. It was black. Like his.

That was when he realized who it was. And for the first time since yesterday, his heart lightened a little.

He approached with a lighter step and even grinned down at the figure. "Excuse me, but loitering is not allowed in front of this building," Matt said when he'd reached her.

She looked up at him with the same blue eyes Matt had known all of his life. They brightened as she smiled. "Well, they let you live here, so they must know how to make exceptions."

Matt winced playfully. "Ouch," he said before allowing himself to get pulled into a hug. He felt as though the hug had recharged him a little when she pulled away. He grabbed a suitcase off of the front steps. "You been waiting long?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Ten minutes or so."

"Really? Wow," said Matt, looking at an imaginary watch on his wrist, "I totally meant to leave you waiting for twenty."

"Touche," she said, getting up to follow him in. She was surprised to find that he'd stopped on the top stair and was looking at her. She fought between frowning and grinning at him. "What's that face for?"

Matt shrugged. "It's just... I'm happy to see you Mags."

Maggie Farrell frowned up at her brother. Suddenly, she broke into a huge grin. "I'm happy to see you too, baby brother."

There was a long and curious pause between the two siblings when Maggie suddenly tilted her head, interested. "You're not dying, are you?"

Matt let out a chuckle and went inside, ignoring his sister's insistent questions that he must be. It was good to have her back.

* * *

Lucy smacked her hand angrily at the book as she read the same line for the fifth time. With the Aerosmith blaring through the wall next door and the suggestive sounds coming through the wall on the other side, the last place Lucy wanted to be was in her dorm room. But where was she supposed to go when her place of solace was now anything but?

Sighing, she closed the book and tossed it on her bed. For a brief moment, she entertained the idea of calling him, but then shook the idea out of her head. No, no way. Lucy McClane did not go crawling back. She did not like being played. That was not happening.

She was suddenly met with mixed feelings as the phone rang. She cringed. It could be Matt asking why she left. Or Tim calling to find out why she'd cancelled. Or a girlfriend wanting a designated driver for her club plans tonight. Before she could stop herself, Lucy answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"What are you doing answering your phone?"

The anxiety she felt picking up the receiver vanished when she recognized her brother's voice. "Jack?"

"Who else? I didn't think you'd be there. I was all set to leave a very loud and rude message on your machine."

Lucy smiled and relaxed in her chair. "Sorry to disappoint."

"You're forgiven, little grasshopper."

Lucy laughed and rolled her eyes at her brother. "So why did you think I wouldn't be home?"

"Well," Jack said, through what sounded like him stretching on his end of the phone, "Well, today is Friday, and yesterday was Thursday, and there was very little phone actions happening yesterday around, say... seven at night?"

"Oh," Lucy said, realizing what her brother was talking about and the purpose of his call. Lucy would always call to check in with her mom and brother once a week on Thursday nights, usually around seven. She'd been so upset about Matt last night that she'd forgotten to call. "I'm sorry. Were you worried?"

"Mom was, but I took care of it. I don't get worried."

Lucy smiled. "Not even a little?"

She heard her older brother huff into the phone. "A little, but don't let that get around. Some of us have a reputation to hold up, you know?"

Lucy laughed. "Got it."

"Good," he said. She could hear her brother's smile in his voice. "So what's new?"

* * *

"Sorry I haven't had a chance to tidy up yet. I totally wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Matt said apologetically as his sister flopped onto the nearest couch. She looked at him with a mix of confusion and amusement as he tried his best to grab loose magazines and clothes that had been tossed carelessly.

"Matty, I'm not the apartment police. Just chill." She grabbed a Vogue off of the table and started to flip through it, "Besides, if you were, I'd have arrested you for your last apartment. This place?" She looked around with an approving eye before nodding, "This place is swank."

Matt stopped cleaning for a moment at that. "Yeah? I'll tell the feds that my older sister approves. I'm sure they'll love to hear it."

Maggie let out a low whistle before giving the apartment another look over. "The feds? They gave you this place?"

"Yeah, well, that's mostly only because they felt bad about how my last one got blown up, so..."

"Blown up? "

Matt heard the tone. Looking at his sister, he saw the concern registered across her face, that kind of vibe that tigers get when they feel that their cub is in danger. He instantly started to calm her down. "No no, it was nothing, you know? Just, like... well, yes there was an explosion, but... but I wasn't hurt. And you know..." He was rambling, but his mouth wasn't listening to him.

"Matt."

He stopped. "Yeah?"

She smiled at him. "It's okay."

Matt nodded and sat down on the opposite end of the couch as his sister. She watched him carefully, knowing that one sign of something upsetting him was his difficulty talking about it. The things that bothered him the most would come out of his mouth the most jumbled. She didn't press the issue and instead tisked, making him look up. She frowned at him. "Damn, it was that bad, huh?"

"Just be thankful you were in Germany," Matt said, and Maggie noticed it was said with a hint of disdain. Sitting up on the sofa, she pulled her brother into another hug, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"It's okay," he said, patting her, "I'm okay."

"Good," she said, sitting back down, "I did get the e-mail. Very exciting stuff. Detective McClane sounds like a brave guy."

"He is," Matt said, trailing off. The mention of the detective brought him back to thoughts of a certain brunette, and he became unaware that his sister was watching him intently. A small smile grazed her lips, and she let out a low whistle which brought Matt back to reality. He looked at her surprised. "What?"

"I get the feeling that there's something... or someone... you're not telling me," she said as only a wise older sister could.

Matt shrugged. "No... wha-what makes you... you know, what makes you say that?"

Maggie grinned at him. "Because of the reading material in this apartment," she said, tossing down the copy of Vogue that she'd been flipping through. She crossed her legs and moved next to her brother on the sofa.

"Spill."

* * *

"Matt Farrell? That hacker guy that Dad was dragging around everywhere?"

Lucy dropped her head in her hands embarrassed. "Oh my God Jack, why don't you say it a little louder?"

"Okay," he said, "Hey Mom!"

"Don't you dare!" Lucy shouted into the phone, and her anger was met with the sounds of her brother's laughter.

"Chill baby sister, I've got you. So you think this guy is playing you, right? You know if he is, I'm taking a road trip out there..."

"No," said Lucy, hearing Jack's brotherly instincts kicking into overdrive, "No no, I just... need a sounding board."

Jack made a noise of understanding into the phone. "Well then, sound away."

Lucy opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. "You first."

"What?"

"Tell me what you think, you dolt," she said, part out of playfulness, part out of nervousness about discussing boys with her older brother. She was convinced that no other girl would do this with her brother. Of course, she wasn't just some girl, and her brother and her shared a special bond that only kids with divorced parents could have.

Jack blew into the phone, obviously trying to decide what to say. "Honestly?"

"Honestly."

"You won't get mad?"

"No."

"Women always say that until they hear what you have to say, then they get mad."

"God, you sound like Dad."

Jack chuckled as though taking that as a compliment. "Then, my honest opinion."

"Okay."

"Are there any magazines lying around in his apartment? Women's magazines? Special food in the cupboard that he never eats or nothing? Did the woman on the phone indicate that she was a girlfriend?"

Lucy considered all of these questions. "No to all of those," she said carefully.

"Then I don't think he's playing you. Tripping maybe, but not playing. He's just a schmuck who doesn't know how to handle himself. Maybe the person on the phone was his sister."

Lucy nodded and frowned as her brother continued. "You must really like this guy to not want to confront him. In case you hurt his feelings or something."

Lucy considered saying something against her brother, retorting in some way, but instead just said, and very weakly, "Shut up."

Obviously Jack had also been expecting Lucy's harangue. "Shut up? That's it? Dude, you must _really_ like him."

Jack continued when Lucy stayed silent, as though sensing that her admitting to liking Matt to her older brother was making her uncomfortable. "I'm happy for you Luce. Just remember not to get hurt. And those guys need stuff spelled out for them, okay? But be careful."

"All men need stuff spelled out for them, you dope," she said smiling, suddenly happy.

"No, I don't need it spelled out. Living with you and mom fixed that problem up years ago."

Lucy laughed. "Don't complain. Just be happy you've got a sister who loves you."

* * *

"YOU LET HER GO? What are you, stupid?"

Matt cringed as his sister's voice suddenly climbed into higher decibels and octaves simultaneously. "What was I supposed to do?"

Maggie scoffed and got off of the couch. "Be a man, for starters," she said, grabbing his jacket off of his desk and throwing it at him, "Here. Go tell her how you feel."

"And what... what do I say? I'm sorry? I don't know what I did wrong!"

"That doesn't matter! Just tell her how you feel. Do something," she said, sounding out the words like she was ten and Matt was six again, and she was teaching him how to construct a sentence.

Matt was about to speak when his sister made another disapproving noise, looking down at the table from where she'd retrieved his jacket. "No wonder you left me outside! Don't you ever check your messages?"

Before Matt could respond, Maggie pressed 'play' on the answering machine. The sound of Maggie's voice filled the apartment. _"Hi Matty, it's me. You never called me last night like you said you would... So I'm just calling to make sure that you're still okay with me crashing at your place for the weekend..."_

Suddenly, a thunderbolt struck Matt. He spun to face his sister. "When did you call?"

"What?" she blinked, surprised.

He shouted over the message and she stopped it. "The message. When did you call and leave it?"

She shrugged. "Yesterday morning."

Matt's eyes widened and suddenly everything made sense. Putting on his coat, he ran for the door. "I'll be back!"

"You better!" Maggie shouted after him as the door slammed shut. She grinned at the back of the door. "Of course you have to come back," she said aloud to herself, "You live here, you knob."

* * *

Matt had barely managed to regain his balance as he flew out of the building when he nearly crashed into someone coming up the steps to get in.

"Sorry! God, I'm sorry, I just..."

"Where's the fire?"

Matt stopped at the sound of the voice and turned to see the smiling face of Lucy in front of him. "Lucy!" he said, surprised and ecstatic, "I was just..."

She smiled as he realized what he was trying to say. "Here I am."

"The message on the phone--"

"—you don't need to explain Matt—"

"My sister," he said, suddenly out of breath. He felt encouraged at the brightening face of Lucy as he continued, "The call was from my sister. She was getting her apartment renovated while she was away, and she's back and it's not done yet. Figured she'd crash with me."

Lucy nodded. "That was nice of you."

Matt nodded at first in agreement but then shook his head. "She could beat me up, so... it's more about, you know, preserving my safety, than anything."

Lucy laughed at that and nodded. "I can see how that would be important."

The two nodded nervously in agreement at that like a pair of bobbleheads before embarrassingly ducking their heads down. Matt thought for a moment about what his sister said, about how he should do something.

So he did. Bringing a shaky hand to Lucy's face, he pulled her close and kissed her.

It was the most simple and gentle kiss that Lucy had ever received in her entire life. Most kisses were so passionate that you became confused as to which way was up. This kiss was direct and simple, his lips pressed firmly against hers. Matt was telling Lucy that he liked her. No tricks, no more uncertainties. He liked her. She loved him for that, for trying. She debated pulling him closer, but decided to let him control this first one.

When he pulled away, Matt had the largest and brightest grin that she'd ever seen on his face before. It made him even cuter. She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"When you two are done making out down there," a sudden voice said loudly from above, "Maybe you'd like to invite her to stay for lunch."

Matt and Lucy looked up to see Maggie leaning out of the window, looking down at the pair with increased interest. Lucy blushed a shade of crimson, but Matt simply shrugged. "Coming up now," he shouted to her.

Smiling, he held his arm out to Lucy. "Shall we?"

She took his arm. "Let's shall."

They entered the apartment, arm in arm.

* * *

_**To My Reviewers:**_

**Karma22** – I'm glad you liked the last chapter! And of course you don't have to respond to every chapter, but it does help me keep track how many people are reading! And of course it isn't the end! As long as everyone is enjoying it, I'm fairly certain I'll keep writing them! Glad you liked it so far! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**Time and Fate** – LOL, you brought up a really good point about how if it was his sister, why he wouldn't try to contact her during the big disaster. Hopefully I handled that okay in this chapter. You'll have to let me know if I managed to pull it off or not. Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

**Stepmother** – grins No, everyone was right. It is his sister. I just wanted to be able to draw another comparison between Matt and Lucy, since Lucy has a brother Jack. I thought it would be neat to give Matt a sister to balance it out. Plus it might help to explain his character a little more.

**Master Keto** – LOL, I'm totally glad you're enjoying this! That's not weird at all. I love Matt/Lucy, and I'm just glad I can provide some (hopefully) decent Matt/Lucy fics for your reading pleasure. Hope you're enjoying them so far and that you liked the chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**Blueoctober** – Thanks for the review! Yes, it was his sister. I'm hoping to use her as a foil for figuring out more about Matt. We'll see how it goes. Glad you're enjoying it so far! Hope you liked reading this chapter.

**CrypticCalico** – Thanks again so much for such a wonderful review! Yes, it was his sister... and I will admit, I did throw Tim back in there to keep everyone on their toes. But Lucy sort of strikes me as the kind of girl who wouldn't follow through with that kind of thing and would realize that there's no substitute good enough for the real thing. Hope you liked the chapter and thanks for reading!

**Emily** – I agree wholeheartedly – Justin Long is a god. It never hurts to state the obvious. And it was his sister. And I'm so glad you're enjoying reading this! It means so much more when people actually enjoy what I write, especially when there are so few Matt/Lucy fics out there. Thanks so much for reading and for the fantastic review!

**Anony** – Thank you again so much for leaving such a wonderful review! It means so much that you're enjoying what I'm writing and that I'm staying in character, but that I'm making it interesting enough that people want to come back and keep reading what I have to write. And you're right, it can't always be happy endings. But I did fix it so that this one is again. Hopefully it's satisfactory. I really hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for reading!

**Speakfire** – LOL, I'm sorry I didn't let you know! I figure since no one really reads it on my LJ that I'd stop posting there. But now as I'm typing that, I probably should keep posting to keep an accurate record of my 100prompts. Easier to do it from the same site rather than two different ones. And you made an excellent point about Lucy's strong personality and reaction. Hopefully I pulled it off okay with her talking with Jack. Can't wait to hear what you think . Thanks again so much for reviewing!

**funkypartyweasel** – Matt is beyond adorable when he's awkward. I can't wait to write more awkwardness for him. It's going to be so much fun (for me, of course, not for him)! And yes, you were right. Sister, not girlfriend. I was debating making it an ex, but a sister will serve such a better purpose for me that I changed my mind.And I agree – you can never have too much Matt/Lucy. Hope you liked the chapter! Thanks so much for the wonderful review!


	5. Roses and Raised Spirits

**Disclaimer:** Maggie is my creation. Sadly, no one else is.  
**Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Good to see you! It's been forever! Between working for the summer and heading for Teacher's College this fall, I haven't been able to do much. To those people who have left me feedback, or who are following the chapters, THANK YOU. Your feedback and encouragement keeps me writing. I had no idea that so many people would enjoy my chapters. You are all awesome. Honest. I can't stress this enough. Thank YOU for keeping me writing. I couldn't do it without you.  
**100prompt:** #31 – Flowers  
--

**Roses and Raised Spirits**

Lucy wiped a tear from her eye, her chest and ribs sore from laughing so hard. She tried her best to catch her breath as Matt glared at his sister.

"You're such a liar," he said indignantly, his cheeks turning a familiar shade of red, "That's not what happened!"

"Hey," Maggie said, putting her hands up and crossing them smugly in front of her, "I'm not the one who ended up covered in cake batter."

Lucy suffocated a snort as Matt grew even redder and knew that yet again, a battle was about to build between Matt and Maggie. She'd been playing referee to these play fights for the better part of a week now. She wondered if this was what her mother felt like, sitting at the table while her and Jack would threaten to do battle over the last helping of their mother's world famous mashed potatoes.

She looked between the two Farrells and smiled. She liked being here like this. It felt like she'd never left home.

Matt caught her looking at the two of them. Matt grinned at her and Lucy smiled shyly back at him. Maddie was still going on about how Matt was lucky that the raw eggs hadn't been put into the batter yet. Neither of them heard a thing.

Until Maggie said something interesting.

"I was thinking of going to visit Mom today."

Her voice came out soft. Matt looked away from Lucy at that. He turned to his sister with a small smile. "Yeah?"

Maggie thought for a moment and then nodded. "Yeah."

Matt smiled. "I think that's a good idea. Maybe bring her some flowers."

Maggie brightened at his suggestion. "Daisies or roses?"

"I call roses," said Matt, raising his hand. He looked at Lucy. "What do you think? Daisies or roses for my mom?"

Lucy shrugged, somewhat thrown off at being involved in the conversation again so quickly. "I don't know," she said before smiling, "I'm sort of a rose girl myself."

Matt grinned. "Then it's settled. Roses it is."

Maggie nodded and Lucy noticed how much calmer and composed the Farrell woman was compared to moments ago. When she looked up, she caught Lucy staring at her. Maggie smiled warmly at her. "You should come. Mom loves surprise visits, especially when we bring friends."

The old Maggie came back for a moment as she grinned at Matt and said "Or more than friends now, if the make-out sessions I keep walking in on are any indication."

Lucy blushed and Matt rolled his eyes. "That was once."

"Twice."

"The first one in the stairway last week doesn't count. You stuck your own head out the window."

Lucy laughed at that and made Maggie look over at her. She smiled. "So Lucy, are you coming or what?" she said playfully.

Lucy looked at Matt, who nodded. He was telling her it was okay, and if the smile on his face was any indication, then he evidently wanted her to come too. She was honored that they wanted to include her in a family visit that was obviously important to them. She nodded and smiled and Maggie.

"I'd love to come."

Maggie smiled back at her. Matt squeezed Lucy's hand under the table.

* * *

Lucy wasn't sure whether to be completely honored or completely terrified at the thought of meeting Matt's mom. As the car rolled down a side road towards the outskirts of the city, Lucy wondered if it was too late to chicken out. Meeting the parents of the person you're dating was a big step in the relationship. She'd only ever done it once, and that was after a lot of preparation. Of course, it also caused the break-up shortly afterwards. Maybe being thrown into it suddenly, she might stand a better chance.

Lucy was distracted from her thoughts at she began to see black spots out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see headstones poking out of the soil. A concrete angel held a hand out to her as she drove by.

They were in a cemetery.

The car stopped and Matt slid out of the passenger seat. He opened Lucy's door for her and waited until she exited the car. He noticed the surprise in her eyes and nodded.

"Thank you for coming with me. Maggie… has a hard time doing this on her own."

He seemed to want to say something else but was having a hard time getting it out. Lucy nodded and smiled at him. She slid her hand into his and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Thank you for letting me come."

Matt smiled and nodded. "You're welcome."

"Matt?"

The two looked over at Maggie, who had climbed out of the driver's seat and now clutched a small bouquet of red roses in her hand. She was holding onto them tightly and crinkling the wrapping paper, which Lucy noticed. Matt nodded to her.

"Yeah?"

Maggie motioned behind her with the slight tilt of her head. "Would you mind if…?" Lucy noticed that once again, her voice was soft and almost wavering as her words died in the air.

Matt nodded, seeming to understand what his sister was asking better than Lucy could. "Go ahead," he said with a small smile, "We'll wait until you get back."

Maggie smiled gratefully at her brother and began to walk away from the car. She'd only taken a couple of steps when she turned around to face the pair.

"And no making out in the cemetery. That's rude. You'll make the spirits jealous, and then they'll chase us out of here. Try to hold off until we get home, okay?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "We're not hormonal teenagers, Mags."

Maggie cocked an eyebrow at him and motioned to Lucy. "She is okay. It's you I'm worried about." She grinned and looked at Lucy, this time motioning to Matt. "Seriously, don't let him con you. He's tricky."

Matt smiled. "Are you still here?"

Maggie rolled her eyes and turned back to the direction she had been headed in. Taking a deep breath, she headed between the tombstones and tall trees until she was out of sight. Lucy watched her go with mixed feelings. She wanted to stay with Maggie. If this was hard for her, she shouldn't have to be alone. But at the same time, she had to respect Maggie's wishes.

"She thinks it's her fault, you know."

Lucy looked up at Matt with surprised eyes. He didn't look at her, but instead had his gaze fixed on where his sister had disappeared into the trees. He seemed to be wishing that he could still see her, be keeping an eye on her. He seemed to be feeling the same struggle of emotions that Lucy was suffering.

"My mom was a fantastic lady. But she never wanted to impose, you know? She just wanted us to be happy and out there, doing our own thing. Especially after our dad died. Mags was eighteen, I was fifteen. We loved him so much, you know? And all of a sudden, he's gone. And we all handled it in different ways. I pretty much buried myself in what my dad had been working on. He was a computer programmer, with, you know, the old computers. Really old. Like, he'd have a stroke if he saw the stuff I was working with."

Matt grinned at the thought of his dad, and Lucy smiled at the mental image of two Farrell men geeking out over something on the computer. She looked back to Matt as he continued.

"When we lost him, we all just sort of reacted in different ways. I went all hardcore with his studies; mom tried to be both parents and just wanted us to do what we liked. Whatever made us happy. Mags… she fell in with the wrong crowd. I mean she's fine now, and sometimes I think she's better for it, but still…"

He trailed off for a moment, and Lucy contemplated whether or not he was pushing himself to tell the story for her sake, or because he was making himself feel better. She hoped it was the latter as he continued with a sigh.

"We're not a religious people. At least Maggie isn't. She doesn't really believe in the whole 'God calls us when he needs us' thing. She believes in cause and effect. You know, you do something… and there's what results from doing that thing. You know, consequences," he said, pointing from one spot to another on an invisible timeline, "And for Maggie, it was 'picked up drunk from a party by mom' and 'car crashes driving home and kills mom'. And just like Dad, she was gone."

Lucy listened sadly as Matt continued. "Mags thinks she pushed our mom over the edge by acting out all the time. You know, going to parties, getting drunk… she thinks all that stress is what killed my mom. But when we talked to the doctors, they told us…"

Matt swallowed and continued, finally turning to Lucy. "They told us that she'd had cancer. Hodgkin's Disease. Apparently it's really rare or something because not a lot of people have it. And she wasn't supposed to do much driving. They said that everybody has different symptoms. You know, things they need to watch out for, because everyone reacts differently to it or something. And my mom would suffer blackouts. And apparently while she was driving, the doctors say my mom had a blackout."

Lucy said nothing. Matt didn't seem to be expecting a response, because he gave a small laugh and went on. "I found that out and my first reaction was "Hey, it could have been worse. I could have lost both of them." But not Mags. She thought "If I hadn't been drunk, my mom would have had a blackout at home rather than while she was driving, and nothing would have happened." And no matter what I tried, I can't tell her otherwise."

It was here that he paused long enough to look at Lucy. Realizing he was waiting for an answer, she thought for a moment before speaking. "I don't think that's something you can tell her, to be perfectly honest. I mean, she might think that you're just trying to make her feel better. She's the one who needs to get past this. No amount of telling her otherwise is going to make much of a difference."

Matt thought about this for a moment before nodding. "I guess you're right."

Lucy nodded. "Matt, I know it's bothering you because you two are so close. It was the same way for Jack and I when my parents separated. We were both convinced that it was something we had done that caused the separation. It took us a long time to realize that it wasn't anything we did wrong. But we had to come to realize that ourselves."

Matt considered this. Then, breaking into a small smile, he looked up at Lucy. "Thanks Luce. You know, for everything. For listening, for…" he seemed at a loss for words as to how much she'd done, and instead gave a general wave of his hand to try and compensate for his lack of words. She smiled.

"You're welcome," she said with a grin, "to all of the above."

The two stood in a comfortable silence for a moment, trying to decide on what to say next. Lucy finally beat Matt and spoke first.

"So…" she said with a mischievous grin, "How serious do you think your sister was about kissing in the graveyard?"

Matt considered this for a moment before grinning and pulling her closer to him. "Pretty serious."

Lucy grinned as Matt's actions contradicted his opinion. She shrugged. "Do you think we should risk it?"

Matt grinned in response and dipped his head down to hers. "Absolutely."

"I KNEW IT!"

The two broke apart as a grinning Maggie Farrell broke through the trees and confronted the pair, crossing her arms. "I should have known."

Matt rolled his eyes at his sister. "Killjoy."

Lucy noticed that Maggie was in much better spirits now than she had been when she'd stepped out of the car. She was now beaming and appeared to have returned to her old, troublemaking self. Before Matt could say anything else to his sister, Maggie had turned to Lucy.

"Thanks for coming Lucy," she said with a soft smile. Pulling her hand out from behind her back, she held a single red rose, "It means a lot. To both of us."

Lucy took it from her, partly confused and partly pleased. She nodded. "Thanks Maggie."

Maggie grinned before shaking her head. "It's not for you."

Lucy blinked. "Come again?"

Maggie smiled. "It's for Mom. You know, to get you on her good side. She loves roses."

"Ah, okay," she said, smiling. She twirled the single rose between her fingers. "Well I do want her to like me."

Maggie grinned and took her by the arm. "She'll love you. I promise."

Lucy smiled thankfully at Maggie. "Thank you."

Matt smiled and took Lucy's free hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Lucy looked up at Matt and he smiled down at her. "Miss McClane, there's someone we'd like you to meet."

Lucy smiled in response. "Me too," she said, "Lead on."

The three walked on, arm in arm.

* * *

_**To My Reviewers:**_

**FreeBorn** – Thanks so much! I did the EXACT same thing you did when you finished the movie – you go looking for fanfiction for it. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, so I started my own. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying it, including you. Thank you so much for taking the time to review. I hope you enjoy the story as it continues to progress.

**A Flying Tomato** – Aww, thank you so much for the honor of being one of your favorites. It means a lot to me that you enjoy my writing. While the update was a long time coming, I promise that I will try to update more often, starting with this chapter you just read. I hope you'll let me know what you thought of it. Thanks for the review!

**hogwartsgirl52** – I will continue, I promise! points to chapter she just posted I hope you liked it! Thanks so much for leaving me feedback. I really appreciate it, and I hope you'll let me know what you think of the new chapter.

**Queen of the Bobs** – I'm really glad that you like these! Thanks for the wonderful feedback! Please let me know what you think of the new chapter!

**USWeasilgirl **– LOL, agreed! I can't wait until I get to factor John into this equation. (enter evil laugh here) Hopefully there won't be TOO much bloodshed.

**Sparkling Silver Moon** – It means so much to me that you're enjoying my chapters! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! And Justin Long is adorable, while Matt Farrell is adorkable. I'm enjoying working with both of them in the stories. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I promise more adorkable moments to come!

**Traptrogue6 **– First of all, thank you so much for leaving me such a wonderful comment. It means so much to me that you're enjoying my story. While I contemplated leaving the story with just the four chapters, I felt that there was still so much more that could be done with them. So hopefully I continue to write chapters that everyone enjoy. And I hope you'll keep leaving me feedback to let me know whether or not I'm on track or way off. Sometimes the characters slip away from me and I need to get them back. I hope you'll give me a hand with that. Thanks again for taking the time to leave me feedback! I really appreciate it.

**barrelracer1415** – Will do! posts a new chapter I'm really glad that you're enjoying my stories, and I hope you continue to read them! Thanks so much for the wonderful and eager feedback! It means a lot!

**Mercure00 **– I agree that these two make an awesome pairing, but for some reason nobody writes about them. I really wanted to read some fics but I couldn't find any, so I decided to write some. I'm really glad that you're enjoying reading these. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me feedback. It means a lot. I look forward to what you think about this chapter. Thanks for reading.

**BOREDOM14 **– LOL, thank you! I'm really glad that you're enjoying it. I hope you'll let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks so much for the feedback!

**CarolinaH.Manning** – I'm really glad that you're enjoying my writing. While this chapter wasn't very enjoyable from the romance/fluff perspective, I have now gotten almost all of the dramatic and sad stuff out of the way. I should be able to focus just on Matt and Lucy now.

**fornwalt **– I promise that, while this chapter was depressing, there will much more fluff to come. I swear. I'll get over my small issue of writing really intimate scenes and write you some really good fluff. Or try my best, anyway. I hope you liked this chapter and will let me know what you think. And stay tuned for more!

**funkypartyweasel **– Not so fast on the updating this time, but I hope you still enjoyed reading it (and hope that you're still reading for that matter!) While there isn't much Matt awkwardness here, I promise that there will be later. Especially when John McClane enters the picture. I'm also going to attempt to make him just a little bit braver – but not too much.

**MelaKay **–Thanks so much for the wonderful comment! I'm glad you liked it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much.

**Stepmother **– Yes, it is his sister. I did consider whether or not he could have a girlfriend, but then I decided against it. Once I wrote Maggie into the scene as a sister, she just fit so comfortably. I'm glad you're enjoying my story! Hope you're still reading! Enjoy!

**Karma22 **– LOL, glad you liked it. This chapter wasn't so much "aw" as it was "wipes tear". I hope you enjoyed it! Your comments mean a lot! Thank you for contnuing to come back and support my story.

**Nani Kakau** – It means so much to me that you're enjoying my stories! I really enjoyed writing Maggie – I would definitely use her character again in a novel if I could. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. I'd love to hear your feedback. Thanks for commenting! It means a lot!

**blueoctober **– I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I hope you like this chapter. I also imagined a scene with Matt, Lucy and John, but it takes place after John has been told about the two of them. Matt does something pretty daring too. But I won't spoil it. I'll leave a note for you at the top of the chapter when I write it. Promise. Enjoy and please let me know what you think.

**Time and Fate** – Good job! You are right, as I described in this chapter. No parents. Just the two of them. I always found it strange that Matt never stopped to call any family to let them know that he was all right. So I worked with that idea and just built up around it. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the chapters so far. I'd love to hear your feedback about this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

Thank you also to **ANONYMOUS **for your wonderful comment and your support. I hope next time you can leave a first initial or a name or something so that I can credit you properly as a reviewer.


	6. Bending the Rules

**Disclaimer:** I own no one in this chapter. Maggie's taking a break, but I'm sure she'll be back.  
**100prompt:** #50 – Breaking the Rules  
**Author's Notes:** Okay, so apparently I owe everyone a HUGE apology for making you wait for more one-shots. I didn't realize how popular this had become! I was originally going to leave it, but seeing how much support I had? I can't walk away from that. So congrats guys! You brought me back to write more.

So thank you again for the support guys! This one's for you!

-- Atellix

* * *

Matt Farrell breathed deep as he looked up through the iron balcony above him, glimpses of stars peeking out from here and there between the grates. The warm breeze tickled the back of his neck where the hairs were still standing on end. He heard John McClane scolding Lucy, followed by a light laugh from her. He smiled as she climbed out the window, the smells of tomato and spices from the spaghetti they had for dinner following her through the window.

"Dad insists on doing the dishes," she said, sitting down next to him on a makeshift patio sofa that was comprised of a lawn chair and a plethora of pillows, "He's so stubborn."

Matt smiled. "Which means you come by it honestly."

"Shut up you."

Matt chuckled and his gaze returned to the sky. Lucy smiled over at him. It had been a week since Lucy had met Matt's mom and Maggie. It had seemed only fair that Lucy bring him for one of her monthly dinners with her dad. Taking in his posture though, she smirked and punched him playfully.

"Will you quit being so tense?"

He looked down at her, startled. "Oh! No, I'm... I'm not tense," he said, his voice quivering.

Lucy gave him a sceptical look and turned to him on the couch, crossing her legs under her. "You're not."

"Nope," he answered a little too quickly.

"Then would you mind telling that to your face, because you seem to be having some communication errors."

Matt let out a little laugh at that and Lucy noticed him relax a little. She smiled.

"Look, you did it. You survived dinner. You two even made light conversation that wasn't about ways of executing you. You're fine. You're in the clear."

She shifted next to him. "Now he's doing the dishes and we're not, which means we need to find something to occupy our time."

He stopped. He caught Lucy's tone, and under any other circumstances (or any other roof, for that matter), he would have been more than eager to oblige. Hell, she probably wouldn't be able to stop him if she wanted. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. This case, and the circumstances he was in, involved a former New York City cop without hair or forgiveness. And was currently less than five feet away with his hands in soapy water with his back to them. Matt still felt like he was watching them. He was also convinced that McClane probably had a gun hidden in the water, just in case Matt decided to try anything.

Factoring that in with the brief conversation the two had had when Lucy left the table for a minute, and Matt was doing everything in his power not to think about the curve of Lucy's jaw or how she bit her bottom lip when she smiled at dinner, or the fact that she was probably wearing that stuff on her lips that tasted like cinnamon.

He was such a goner.

When Lucy had left the table, they'd had a talk. A laying down of the law. "Man candour" if you will. And John McClane had only one rule while Matt was there.

That rule was that Matt was to keep his hands off of Lucy. Apparently it was bad enough for McClane trying to imagine and deal with what they were doing outside of his house, but in his house and in his presence, it wasn't happening.

Not if he wanted to live through the night.

Of course, that was easier said than done. Now with her actually sitting next to him, Matt was having a hard time remembering how easy it was for John McClane to kill someone. He kept thinking back to a few months ago to those few days when it was common to be chased by a chopper and thrown down an elevator shaft with an SUV.

If he wasn't careful, he was sure he'd be in a similar situation with a Buick.

So instead of being bold and giving in to Lucy, he instead decided that preserving his life was better for the time being. He shifted slightly to look at her. "We could play a board game."

Lucy stopped. Clearly board games hadn't even made the top fifty list of responses that he could give her. "What?"

Matt shrugged weakly. "Well I mean, if you're looking to pass the time, we could play a board game. I think I saw Scrabble on your dad's shelf in the TV room."

Matt was prepared for a number of different responses. Confusion, anger, even the possibility of not taking him seriously. Instead, he watched as she pulled back to look him fully in the face. Matt took the opportunity to begin brainstorming all the possible things he could do to make it up to her later, preparing himself for the possibility of a slap.

He was surprised when her face softened slightly and she sighed, pulling her knees to her chest and studying her toes. Matt fumbled.

"Lucy, believe me. If we were—"

"My dad said something to you, didn't he?"

Matt stopped. He blinked as Lucy looked at him, her head resting on her knees. "Right?"

She must have found the answer she was looking for in his face, because she turned her head and returned her gaze back to her toes. "I figured. You seemed different after I came back to the table."

Matt swore internally. "Lucy – "

"Don't worry, I get it," she said, standing, "It's understandable. You're scared. He's a big guy. Hell, I'm sure I'd be scared. And I know he means well. But it's not about him. I just..." she sighed, "I just wish people would move beyond my dad."

Matt tried to think of something to say, but Lucy spoke before he could. "It's getting late," she said quietly, "I'll walk you down."

Before Matt had a chance to respond, Lucy was already gone.

* * *

  
John McClane shook Matt's hand firmly again, but this time it didn't hurt when he got it back. Not like when he'd first arrived to dinner and had to shake it to get feeling back into it. Matt had a feeling that was because he had played by the rules. Not a hand on Lucy.

Lucy, on the other hand, was quiet and unassuming. She walked him a couple of concrete stones away from the apartment building and stopped about ten feet away from where her dad was waiting in the doorway of the building. She sighed.

"Sorry Matt. I'd hug you or kiss you goodbye but then you'd be dead, so..." She said it with a hint of bitterness that made Matt's heart twist a little more in his chest. He winced.

"Luce..."

"Don't worry about it," she said briskly, crossing her arms, "I just have to get used to the fact that my father can intimidate anyone. Even my..."

She trailed off at that. She and Matt hadn't had any kind of exclusive talk about what they were yet, what with how 'they' actually came about, and this didn't seem like the place to do it. Instead, she shrugged and tried to put on a smile. "Never mind. I'll talk to you later."

Feeling completely defeated and wondering how doing the right thing could feel so lousy, Matt nodded back as best he could. "Yeah, okay," he said, "Later."

Turning from her he started walking away, his chest feeling heavy. Thoughts of Lucy and her dad were swimming around in his head. Lucy was right to be upset, but at the same time, they didn't know what 'they' were. Did he even have the right to take liberties like that in front of her dad? Add in the fact that the man who made the 'no hands' rule had saved his life repeatedly, and what did you get? Apparently, the answer was what he was doing right now. Walking away.

You'd think saving the world would have manned him up a bit.

That was when a thought struck him. He stopped walking.

He was going about this all wrong. He was getting bogged down in the details. Because when he stepped away and thought about it, it was all very simple.

He turned around to see Lucy still standing on the sidewalk with her dad holding the door open. With a determined eye and a racing heart, he jogged back.

* * *

  
Lucy watched as Matt's back retreated. She was going to see him to the end of the block for reasons she didn't know, but her dad's voice jarred her attention away.

"Lucy baby, come on. It's getting cold."

She was considering going in when she heard the sound of sneakers pounding on the pavement and turned to see Matt jogging back towards her. She waited until he reached her before speaking.

"What's wrong?"

His eyes were bright from the small jog, and he beamed at her with a boyish grin. "I forgot something."

Lucy frowned. "What?"

Matt grinned and shouted to John McClane. "No hands, right? Hands off of Lucy. I'm following your rules. "

Making a show, he put his hands behind his back as though they were in imaginary cuffs. He turned to show McClane his back. "See?"

McClane stiffened but nodded. "Yeah, I see. So what, kid?"

Matt smiled at him. "So you know I'm playing by your rules."

McClane didn't answer. Matt looked back to Lucy, who was now staring at him with a confused but curious face. Matt grinned at her. "So here's the thing. I'm pretty sure I forgot to kiss you goodnight. And I kinda want to. So..." he trailed off with a shrug, "Stay still."

Before Lucy could respond, Matt leaned down and kissed her. Right there, in the middle of the sidewalk.

Right in front of her dad, who didn't move, but stared on incredulously.

Within moments, Matt pulled away. The kiss was short but gentle and warm, leaving Lucy's heart racing in her chest. She forced her eyes to open and smiled sleepily up at the geek. Matt grinned.

"Tomorrow's Saturday. How about you come in the morning? We could maybe do a movie marathon. Or maybe just sit around in our pajamas all day or something."

At this point, Lucy was willing to sit through all four Terminator movies. She smiled and nodded. "Maybe we can get some Guitar Hero in there too?"

As she'd hoped, Matt's entire face lit up, but he quickly covered it with a dramatic sigh and a rolling of his eyes. "Well, I mean, I guess so. You know, if we absolutely _have_ to."

Lucy grinned and punched him in the shoulder. "Shut up."

Matt smiled and rubbed the spot where she'd punched him. "So tomorrow?"

"Yep," she said, "Tomorrow."

Feeling a renewed sense of strength, he strolled over to John McClane, hoping the expression on his face was neutral and not of the excited childish feeling that was rolling around in his stomach. He wedged his hands deep into his pockets and rocked on his heels.

"I just wanted to thank you again for dinner."

Matt noticed McClance's fists were clenched as the cop crossed his arms and stared at the young hacker. "You already told me. That all?"

"And to tell you that I like your daughter. It's that simple."

"So I noticed." Matt could have sworn he heard the cop grit his teeth. "That all?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah," she said, his face slightly serious, "You know, for now."

McClane nodded back and watched the boy retreat, saying goodbye to Lucy and again being careful not to touch her. With a smile he waved to the two and began his walk home. McClane couldn't help but notice that this time, when Matt walked away, his form was straighter, his head was higher and his step was lighter.

He also noticed that Lucy was beaming. And that meant something to him.

So for the first time in a long time, John McClane said nothing, shelved his anger and assassination plans, and made a mental note to put away the gun that was hiding under the dishcloth next to the sink.

For now.

* * *

Again, I'm so terribly sorry that I haven't updated this in so long! I'm not sure if anyone is still reading! But I've got at least another four chapters in me, and then I should be all set. So hopefully you'll return or stick around until then. :) Feedback would be awesome, especially since it's been so long since I wrote these characters. I'm going to have to go back and watch the movie again.

-- Atellix


	7. Talking the Talk

**Disclaimer:** Maggie is my creation. No one else belongs to me.  
**Author's Notes:** Here's the next chapter! Thought it was about time to get the characters moving forward. Hope you all enjoy! Sorry it's been so long since I updated. We all know what school is like.  
**To My Reviewers:** I try to thank everybody personally, but I'm not able to this time around. I can't tell you how much your kind words of support mean to me. You guys are the sole reason that I keep writing. Thank you so much for all your help. I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

**  
TALKING THE TALK**

Matt smiled as Lucy's hands came to rest on his shoulders. He stopped typing and tilted his head back to look at her, the light from his apartment windows brightening her from behind..

"Bored with your history paper already?"

"Incredibly," she said with a smile, "What are you up to?"

"Just running a diagnostic check on the Woodlawn firewalls." Apparently, helping John McClane save the world had its advantages. For the last month Matt had been working with Bowman and his team to develop and implement a stronger security system. Every couple of days they would test the system by changing the passwords and having Matt try to hack in. Aside from the challenge of writing the code for the bad guys, this was one of the first jobs Matt had ever genuinely enjoyed. Plus, being one of the good guys definitely had its perks, one of which was currently rubbing gentle circles into his shoulders.

He smiled and spun his chair around to look at her. "Clearly I'm working on something more interesting than the French revolution."

Lucy gave an exasperated sigh and followed Matt into the kitchen. "I don't even know why I bothered to take this class. Electives are supposed to be easy. This class is my hardest one!"

Matt put down the bottle of water he had been drinking and smiled at her thoughtfully. "You can always finish writing my new programming algorithm for me."

Lucy made a face, causing Matt to laugh. "It's not all that bad," he said, "Some variables here, a couple of backslashes there... you'd be fine."

Lucy noticed how closely Matt was standing to her, trapping her between himself and the fridge. Smiling, she gently started to trace the circular Green Lantern logo on his shirt.

"Have I ever told you that I love it when you talk technical?"

The corner of Matt's mouth turned up. "Really."

Lucy nodded. "I mean, I don't always know what you're talking about, but still... I find it very, _very_ attractive."

Matt grinned. "In that case," he said, moving his hands to her waist and pulling her closer, "I should probably tell you that I'm planning on defragmenting the hard drive later."

She smiled and kissed him gently. He pulled away with a grin. "Maybe even change the password on my neighbour's wireless router."

Lucy laughed into his kiss as he pressed her against the fridge. He had become very good with things like this in the past week since her dad's house, with Lucy's encouragement of course. Her pupil was doing well.

Her hands gently slid through his hair, soft and dry from his shower earlier that morning. His hands met at the small of her back, his thumbs grazing the skin where her shirt had ridden up. He playfully kissed her cheek before moving to her jaw. He grinned as she sighed into him and he trailed kisses down her neck slowly and deliberately.

"If you want," he said between kisses, "I could change your laptop's IP address later."

Lucy sighed. "Mmm... phone."

He chuckled. "I could do something with the phone too if you want."

She gave a breathless laugh and fought to find her voice. "No... phone..."

It took a second for Matt to realize what she was talking about. He drew his attention away from Lucy's neck long enough to recognize the sound of the phone ringing. He smiled down at Lucy and shrugged.

"I don't hear anything," he said, kissing her firmly.

"Matt..."

He kissed her again. "Still not hearing it."

"What if it's important?" Lucy breathed as he moved back to her neck.

"Then they'll call back."

Matt had no sooner said that than the answering machine kicked in, and a voice started to speak.

"Hey loser, it's me. Listen, I know you're probably playing video games or making out with Lucy, but I need to talk to you. So I'll just wait on the line for you until your answering machine gets tired of recording me and kicks me off. Maybe I'll practice my bagpipes while I'm waiting."

Matt rolled his eyes and was already untangling himself as Lucy laughed. Maggie was beginning to imitate a set of bagpipes, honking very loudly and off-key.

"I love your sister," Lucy said as Matt picked up the phone.

"You want her? She's yours," he said before speaking into the receiver, "Kill the band practice Mags, I'm here."

"Hello younger sibling! Is Lucy there?"

"Yes."

"Ah ha, I was right. Sorry for interrupting your hormonal urges little bro, but I have a problem."

"Rather than make a lame joke about how you need a doctor to solve most of your problems that you'll just punch me for later, I'm gonna be the bigger person and just say "what?"."

"Your kindness knows no bounds. And it's a computer problem, smart ass. Right up your alley."

Lucy smiled to herself and watched Matt talk on the phone from her place in the doorway. She loved how animated and lovingly annoyed he became when he spoke to her. It was fun to watch.

Unfortunately, her viewing time was cut short when Pink's "So What" started blaring from the direction of her purse. Smiling at Matt, she headed to the couch where her books and laptop still lay scattered. After a good deal of rummaging, she found it and flipped it open before looking at the caller.

"Hello?"

"I need a favour."

Lucy frowned. "Amanda?"

"No, your other best friend from first year Poli Sci. Who else? Where the hell have you been, anyway?"

Lucy quickly moved to the kitchen as a feeling of tension washed over her. "I've been busy... you know."

"Word is you've got a boyfriend."

Lucy stilled. Matt was more than a friend, for sure. But they hadn't exactly had "the talk" yet. She didn't know exactly what they were. And she didn't want to lie...

She heard Amanda shifting on the phone. "Well? What's the story?"

Lucy sighed. "Not exactly."

"So that's a 'no' on the boyfriend then?"

Lucy turned to look at Matt, who was laughing at something his sister was saying. She felt her heart twinge a little as she said, "No."

"Perfect. Then I need a favour."

"What kind of favour?"

"The 'I-need-you-to-be-my-wingman-at-the-bar-tonight' kind of favour."

"Oh," said Lucy with a wince, "I don't know..."

"Come on Luce, you owe me. See, this really cute guy asked me to find a date for his friend so that we can all go out together. And you don't have a boyfriend."

"It's not that," said Lucy, "It's just –"

"Seven o'clock. We're meeting at Irish Joe's. Wear that soft green v-neck that makes you look like Kate Winslet. Okay?"

Lucy sighed, knowing it was beyond hope for her to get out of this now. "Yeah, okay."

"Perfect! See you then!"

Lucy slowly closed her phone with a clomp, just as Matt was saying goodbye to Maggie.

"Sound good... yes, I'll tell her... yes, I will... Yeah, love you back... Bye."

He hung up the phone and turned to Lucy with a grin. "Maggie says hi. Now, where were..."

He trailed off upon seeing Lucy's expression, a cross between Sarah Connor meeting the Terminator and John Connor after failing to stop Skynet.

"You okay?"

Lucy sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, just... a friend called me for a favour I have to do, but I don't want to do."

"Oh," said Matt, thinking for a moment, "What's the favour?"

"She wants to go out with some guy, but she can't unless she finds a date for the guy's friend."

Matt swallowed, catching on. "And that would be you."

"Sadly yes," she said with a sigh.

Matt sighed and shrugged. "Well, I was going to suggest some Thai food and a movie break but I guess that's out."

Lucy frowned. "I'm sorry."

Matt shrugged. "No worries."

Lucy gave him a small smile. "Could I maybe substitute the meal for a hug?"

Matt winced playfully. "I don't usually do substitutions but sure. For you."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his chest, listening to his heartbeat as his arms wrapped around her. She smiled.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Anytime you want a hug, just let me know."

Lucy smiled.

* * *

Amanda wasn't hard to spot in the bar. She had legs that went on for miles, so Lucy looked for the loudest girl with the shortest skirt. She found her at the bar, a drink in each hand.

"You made it! Thanks for coming, I totally owe you one. Although," she said with a wink, "You might owe me one when you see your date."

She motioned with her whiskey sour hand to the two men sitting at a table by the window. "The one on the right is yours."

Lucy's was a tall blonde with a strong frame. His white collared shirt was loose against his blue jeans and tan carpenter boots. He looked exactly like Lucy's type.

Or at least, what her type used to be.

Lucy tried to put on a smile and forget a certain pair of soft brown eyes that looked disappointed as she left, and made her way to the table.

* * *

Matt wished Maggie had called sooner. If she had, Matt could have solved her computer problem and then taken her advice about having a talk with Lucy. He would have finally come clean about how he felt about her and what he wanted.

Not to say that after his grand confession, Lucy wouldn't have gone anyway. Or that she would have even said yes to him. But at least he'd have an idea to stand on rather than trying to figure out whether he should have let her go or not.

With a sigh, he pushed away from his computer. That new algorithm wasn't getting finished tonight.

Matt had just popped in an episode of Doctor Who when there was a knock at the door. He frowned. Maybe Maggie had gotten impatient about being without a laptop and was bringing it by now. He sighed and pulled himself off the couch, heading for the door.

"Mags, seriously, I love you and all but you really need to make up your...mind..."

Lucy stood there, a bag in each hand. "Hi."

Matt blinked. "Hi."

Lucy shifted from foot to foot before taking a deep breath. "I was in the neighbourhood and I thought I'd come by. I've got pad Thai if you haven't eaten," she said, holding up the one bag, "And a couple of movies. I wasn't sure whether or not to get Spiderman or Wolverine, so I got both."

Matt didn't have the heart to tell her that both of those DVDs were already on his shelf. Instead he opened his mouth to say something else, but Lucy cut him off. "Wait, let me finish. I was practicing on the way over, so the least you could do is let me talk. Please?"

Matt's mouth closed and he nodded.

Lucy sighed. "I was at the bar and I didn't want to be. I wanted to be here. And I should have just told my friend that, because whether she likes it or not she'd going to meet you eventually."

She took a breath. "I like hanging out with you. I love how nice and thoughtful and smart you are, and how you make me feel safe and sexy and smart, even though you're so much smarter than me."

"Lucy—"

"I'm almost finished, I promise," she said, pausing, "I don't want to scare you away, and I know guys hate putting labels on things and putting labels on themselves. But I like you. And I think... at least I hope, that you like me too. And I was hoping that we could... we could do something about that."

Matt did his best to hide his smile. "Miss McClane, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?"

Lucy nodded and heaved a nervous sigh. "Yes, Mr. Farrell. I believe I am."

Matt couldn't take it anymore. His mouth opened into a wide grin and he leaned over to give Lucy a kiss. She responded as best she could with a wide smile and her hands full. Matt pulled away tasting strawberries.

"Well," he said, holding the door open, "I totally think my girlfriend should put our food on the kitchen table, because I kinda want to kiss her again with her hands free."

Lucy laughed and crossed the threshold. "That sounds like an excellent idea."

Matt closed the door. "Just for the record," he said, following her into the kitchen, "You totally had me at 'pad Thai'."

* * *

Thanks so much for reading! Feedback is definitely appreciated and helps me keep writing! I promise to do personal thank-you's in the next chapter!


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